GOLDEN VANILLA ICE CREAM RECIPES

Steps:

• Put the canister from the machine into the freezer a day before you want to make the ice cream. Next day, pour the cream and milk into a medium heavy-based pan, then tip in half the sugar. Slit the vanilla pod down its length with a small sharp knife and scoop out as many of the tiny black seeds as you can into the cream mixture. Cut the pod into three and drop it into the pan.
• Heat the cream and milk over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until it almost boils – you’ll see a few bubbles at the edge. Take off the heat and set aside for 30 minutes so the vanilla can infuse.
• Put the egg yolks into a bowl with the rest of the sugar and beat with an electric hand beater for about 2 minutes until the mixture has thickened, is paler in colour and falls in thick ribbons when you lift the beaters. Using a measuring jug, scoop out about 125ml/4fl oz of the cream mixture and beat into the egg yolks to slacken them. Reheat the cream until it just comes to the boil, take off the heat and stir in the egg yolk mixture.
• Return the pan to a low heat and cook, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, for 8-10 minutes, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Watch that it doesn’t boil – as soon as you see any bubbles about to burst to the surface, it should be thick enough, so take the pan off the heat so the mixture doesn’t curdle.
• Pour the custard into a heatproof bowl, then sit it in a bigger bowl one third full of iced water to cool (this takes about 20 minutes). Stir occasionally to stop a skin forming. Put the bowl of custard in the fridge for 3-4 hours, preferably overnight, so it gets really cold.
• Get the ice cream machine running, scoop out the vanilla pod pieces, then slowly pour in the cold custard. Leave it to churn for 10-30 minutes (depending on your machine). When it stops, it is probably too soft to eat, so spoon into a plastic container, cover with cling film, then a lid, and freeze for a minimum of 3 hours. (It will keep in the freezer for 3 months but don’t take it out, then refreeze.) Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving.
• To make it by hand: in step 1, heat the milk, vanilla, and half the sugar without the cream (the custard will be slightly thicker). At the start of step 6, whip the cream so it’s light and floppy, not too stiff, and fold it into the cold custard. Freeze for 3-4 hours, stirring once an hour until almost frozen, then freeze as above.

Steps:

• Make sure that you have plenty of room spare in the freezer. First, separate the eggs, placing the yolks in a large bowl. (You will not need the whites for this recipe. You can use them to make meringues.)
• Add the sugar to the egg yolks and whisk until pale and thick.
• Add the cornflour (if using) and whisk well to incorporate into the egg yolks.
• Put the cream and milk into a medium saucepan.
• Cut the vanilla pod open lengthways and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife, then add to the cream and milk.
• Heat the cream and milk until just below boiling. Slowly pour the hot cream and milk onto the eggs and sugar, whisking as you go.
• Sieve the custard into a clean pan, and set it over a very low heat. Stir the custard constantly with a wooden spoon, paying special attention to the corners of the pan, until it is steaming and has thickened slightly. The custard is ready when you can draw a clear line through it on the back of the wooden spoon. This can take up to 10 minutes.
• Tip the custard into a large, shallow, freezer-proof container, and allow to cool to room temperature (you can speed this up by sitting the tub of custard in a large bowl of iced water).
• Once at room temperature, place a lid on the custard and chill in the fridge overnight.
• Once chilled, transfer the custard to the freezer and take it out every hour, for three hours, to whisk it with an electric handheld whisk. This will disperse the ice crystals and keep it smooth.
• Then leave the ice-cream in the freezer for a final freeze, until it is solid.
• Remove the ice cream from the freezer 10 minutes before serving, so that it’s easy to scoop.